Other Food Allergies

Aflatoxin and possible link to food allergy - effects on intestinal immune system

I've been doing a "little" research into the possibility that mycotoxins such as aflatoxin play a direct role in the development of food allergy.

To make a long story short, the immune system characteristics (specifically the intestinal immune system) of atopic people are similar if not the same as the effects of mycotoxins on the intestinal immune system.

I think I've found some pretty convincing evidence that they are playing a role. Let me know what you think. Just keep in mind that I'm not a medical professional, and the information on my page is not medical advice. If someone out there finds any errors, please let me know.

Please read my web page. I cite all my sources (and there are quite a lot of them...) I haven't yet added links to the sources, but I plan to add them eventually.

I'm very interested in this too. I know that in 1995, USDA relaxed its aflatoxin inspection procedures. And as we all know, between 1997 and 2002, PA in kids apparently doubled. While this may just be coincidence, I think it still bears looking into.

From the 1995 FR notice about the changed inspection procedures:

"The high degree of control that had been in place for such transactions is no longer needed because the peanut industry has changed from small locally owned plants to large corporations with strict quality control procedures. The Committee
believes that relaxing the requirements will enable handlers to reduce
processing and storage costs and increase movement of peanuts without
jeopardizing the agreement's quality control and lot identification
objectives."

Quote:Originally posted by April in KC:
[b]Becky, do you know how to find this info again? I started to read this, but the link doesn't work.
[/b]

This page is being updated and revised. I plan to put it back up in a month or two. One interesting thing I've learned is that aflatoxin (AFB1) is known to inhibit interleukin-2 (IL-2) production. IL-2 is critical for the maintenance of regulatory T cells (CD4+CD25+), which are needed to keep both Th1 and Th2 responses in check (to prevent autoimmunity and allergy development).

There have been some recent papers about pediatric transplant patients taking tacrolimus, an immunosuppressive drug known to inhibit IL-2 about 10 to 100 times more than previous immunosuppressive drugs like cyclosporin A. A significant number (about 10-17%) of pediatric transplant patients on tacrolimus have been developing multiple food allergies (and other manifestations of allergic diseases), while the adult patients have not (with very few exceptions). Children have immature immune regulatory responses, which may make them more susceptible to the effects of tacrolimus.

It's also known that other environmental contaminants like lead and mercury compounds can elevate IgE levels, among other effects.

[This message has been edited by Stephie's Mom (edited November 26, 2006).]

Quote:Originally posted by Greenlady:
[b]I'm very interested in this too. I know that in 1995, USDA relaxed its aflatoxin inspection procedures.
From the 1995 FR notice about the changed inspection procedures:
[url="http://frwebgate3.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=38387211927+9+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve"]http://frwebgate3.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin...action=retrieve[/url] [/b]

I wasn't able to pull up the document with this link, but I'm interested in learning more. Could you give me the page number from the 1995 Federal Register? The FDA was also messing with the aflatoxin action levels (for animal feed) in the late 80's, right before the increase in peanut allergy was noted. Here are some excerpts from my research:

In a cohort of American children referred for the evaluation of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis between 1990 and 1994, the prevalence of allergic reactivity to peanuts was nearly twice as high as that in a similar group evaluated between 1980 and 1984 (Sampson, 2002).

FDA monitoring data for 1989-1991 indicated that a small but significant percentage of peanut and peanut butter samples tested contained aflatoxin concentrations above 20 ppb (actual concentrations not reported). The data also indicated that mycotoxin levels do sometimes exceed the recommended limits for various other food and animal feed products (Wood, 1992 [url="http://jas.fass.org/cgi/reprint/70/12/3941)."]http://jas.fass.org/cgi/reprint/70/12/3941).[/url]

In 1969, the FDA set an action level for aflatoxins at 20 ppb for all foods, including animal feeds. But in 1982, the action level for aflatoxin in cottonseed meal used in feeds was revised to 300 ppb. In 1989, the action level for aflatoxin in feed corn was revised to 100-200 ppb, and in 1990, the aflatoxin action level for peanut products in animal feed was revised to 100-200 ppb.

[This message has been edited by Stephie's Mom (edited November 26, 2006).]